Statistical Mechanics for Soft Matter Systems
5 CFU
Program
- Diffusive processes (one-dimensional RW, Perrin expt, Einstein diffusion relation)
- Langevin equation (underdamped and overdamped)
- Stochastic harmonic oscillator, power spectrum
- Harmonic oscillator coupled to heat bath
- Fokker-Planck equation
- Out-of-equilibrium systems: stochastic motion in a tilted washboard potential (giant acceleration of diffusion)
- Entropic forces:
- giant acceleration of dynamics in systems with spatially modulated confinement
- depletion effect in crowded systems
- Mean field solution of charged particles in ionic solutions (Debye Hueckel theory, Debye screening length)
- Mean field solution of charged rods (counterion condensation)
- RNA structure prediction, calculation of partition function of 1D systems with nested long-range interactions
- Partition function of (quasi)-1D systems with short-ranged interactions, transfer matrix techniques
The successful and proficient attendance of the course will be evaluated through an oral exam.
References
- K. Huang, Statistical Mechanics, any edition
- J. Yeomans, Statistical Mechanics of Phase transitions
- N. Goldenfeld, Lectures On Phase Transitions And The Renormalization Group
- G. Parisi, Statistical field theory